This
part of my Web site is dedicated to setting up and running
Solaris/x86 on Toshiba Tecra 550CDT laptop.
The page you're on now is a sort of summary: it gives an
overall picture.
If you want more detailed descriptions, follow the links:
there're other pages that discuss possible problems and
the ways they can be solved.

Everything
on these pages can be equally applied to both Solaris
2.6 and 7: in fact, my first installation on
Tecra used 2.6, and then I reinstalled everything from scratch
with Solaris 7.
I didn't try to put earlier versions, like 2.5.1, on my laptop,
however, so I can't tell whether their behavior or requirements
would be any different.

In
short words: yes, it's possible to have a
complete portable replacement
for the desktop running Solaris/x86.
It's gonna cost you some extra time and money, but the result is
way worth the efforts.
As with any UNIX on any laptop, there're numerous gotchas and
specific problems related to various important system components,
but they all can be resolved or worked around without compromising
the usability and usefulness of the portable system.

Why
exactly Tecra 550CDT?
Follow
this link
to find out how I was making my decision.

Hardware

Configuration
of Toshiba Tecra 550CDT laptop is pretty much fixed:
it's a compact 6.7 pound PCI based system with

Basic Installation

Before
you start the istallation, you'll need to take care about
the laptop BIOS settings: the allocation of IRQs
and PCMCIA controller mode are the most important
things that must be set properly.

After
that, there's not really much to say.
Solaris/x86 2.6 sees and treats external floppy, EIDE CD ROM
and hard drive and most of the other devices as usually.
The entire installation process goes smoothly and without
any surprises.

The
only thing to be kept in mind is that you should not
try to configure video and networking during the installation
but postpone it until you have working Solaris system and all
additional software and hardware properly installed.

Video

Solaris
doesn't include support for Tecra 550CDT video based on
S3 Virge/MX chipset, neither in its standard
configuration nor in any of Video Driver Updates.
To get a normally working X Window system, you have these choices:

X-Accelerated Server for Laptops from
Xi Graphics, Inc..
This is what I use and therefore have some experience with.

XFree86 server available from
The XFree86 Project, Inc..
I've never tried it on Solaris, but I'm almost sure that it
supports Tecra's video chipset, too, and it's ... well, free.

See
this page
for more information about setting up X-Accelerated Server.

Audio

Tecra
550CDT has Yamaha OPL3-SA3 compatible audio system that
uses CS4231 chipset, and, as you probably guessed already,
all that stuff is not supported directly by Solaris/x86.
It's compatible - to some extent - with SoundBlaster,
and you can make it work with Solaris as a regular SB card.
But the results are going to be very disappointing,
so don't do it.

Instead,
get yourself OSS driver from
4Front Technologies.
It's a little bit tricky to configure, but it works well and
besides it's currently the only choice, in fact.
See
this page
for additional information on my experience with OSS driver.

Network

Tecra
550CDT doesn't have a built-in networking, so you'll need to add
a PCMCIA network or modem/network combo card.

My
choice was 3Com 3C589D - Solaris recognizes and configures it
automatically (but only after the installation is completed),
no DUs required.
The card works fairly well for me, although somewhat slow
(approx. 500 KB/sec max, but maybe the real culprit here is
my hub).

Additional -
very important - details about setting up the network can be found
here.

Modem

Well,
there is a built-in modem in Tecra 550CDT, but unfortunately
it's a piece of junk called Winmodem which precludes
any possibility to make use of it under any OS other than MS Windows.
So you'll need another PCMCIA - modem or modem/network combo - card
if you plan to dial out.

I
use 3Com 3CMX556 x2/v90 PCMCIA modem (the one with XJACK
connector).
Solaris works with it quite well, no problems dialing out or
setting PPP connections, although I didn't push it to the limits
and can't tell if it's as robust and efficient performer as my
Courier V.Everything.

Power Management

There's
nothing in Solaris/x86 that directly supports power management
features of the hardware the OS runs on.

However,
the most important procedures - suspend mode
and low battery state signalling - are performed by
Tecra's BIOS on its own, even without cooperation on the OS side.
So even with APM-illiterate Solaris, the laptop suspends and
resumes correctly, and when the battery goes low I get the
warning enough in advance to either plug in adaptor or go to
suspend mode.